Skirt
by SpaceHamburger
Summary: A story in three parts set pre-Despair. Mondo decides to ask Chihiro out for a date, but boy is he in for a big surprise by the end of it! Read and Review please. Spoilers for Chapter Two.
1. Chapter 1

Mondo Oowada was tough. Everyone thought he was, at least. He always wore his Crazy Diamonds jacket coupled with his angry expression. This disguise was a constant.

That's all it really was: a disguise. It was there to hide his true persona, that of the sensitive boy who even after his death still stood in his brother's shadow. No one could know what a softie he was on the inside; he had a reputation to uphold. He was the leader of the most powerful motorcycle gang in Japan, and needed to look and act the part. Who would follow him otherwise?

Here at Hope's Peak Academy, though, things were different. He didn't wear his jacket constantly. In fact, he wasn't sure at the moment where that old thing had gotten to. Here at this prestigious institute he had to wear a uniform. He didn't wear it well, that was never his style, but he wore it just the same. And with the disappearance of his treasured jacket, he expression began to soften over time, as well. What would his gang think of him now?

What would they think of him? He hadn't had much contact with his old riding buddies in the months he'd been at this school, and it was hard to lead from afar. Once he had started going here, Crazy Diamond activity had died down in the country, and strangely enough, Mondo wasn't upset. He liked Hope's Peak Academy, and he supposed all this was good for him. He couldn't be a delinquent forever.

Speaking of being a delinquent, how did Mondo get into this school? His grades were certainly not a deciding factor. Neither was his attendance record, now that he thought about it. Apparently being a gang leader was a talent, a Super High School Level one, at least. And in retrospect, he realized his grades _had _improved to mostly C's since his coming to the academy.

He had his friends to thank for that. Without the push of one Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Mondo wouldn't have passed his classes, let alone attended them. At first, he and Kiyotaka were at each throats constantly, and that wasn't a metaphor. But somehow, someway, they had gotten over their differences and were now the best of friends. They were as close as brothers, in fact, and treated each other as such. Kiyotaka, being a Super High School Level Hall Monitor, could get on quite a few people's nerves. In the past, Mondo would have kicked the shit over someone like that. Now however, he realized Kiyotaka was only doing his job. In return, Kiyotaka let Mondo's uniform violations and slight disruptions slide. Their brotherhood was mutually beneficial: Mondo was improving grades and behavior, and Kiyotaka was learning to not be such a hard ass.

Mondo had another friend with whom he was very close. Her name was Chihiro Fujisaki, and she was a Super High School Level Programmer. She was very timid, and Mondo always found himself wondering why he hung out with someone who perfectly represented the qualities in himself he tried to suppress. Chihiro wasn't weak, though. She herself thought she was, but Mondo knew otherwise. The story of how they met was a perfect example.

Mondo was sitting in the computer lab during the first week of school, listening to the instructor drone on and on about basis procedure and school policy. Mondo was bored fast, and so he made a comment.

It was funny, at least to him, but it seemed that most of the girls had taken it the wrong way. They were shooting daggers at him at the moment. Suddenly, Mondo's computer began flashing. Frantically, he tried to shut it off, but nothing was working. A loud screeching noise started coming from the speakers, and Mondo fell out of his chair. Just as soon as the instructor sent him to the office, the noises and flashing stopped.

And as Mondo exited the room, his gaze met that of a giggling short brown-haired girl. When he looked at her, however, the giggling stopped. She looked frightened, but Mondo just smirked and nodded his head, as if to say "Nice one, kid. No hard feelings." Mondo now knew better than to mess with such a talented computer genius. And, after hanging out with Chihiro a few more times, he vowed to never be disrespectful to women again, as he didn't ever want to see such a sweet face frown.

Mondo contemplated all this as he laid back against the grass of Hope's Peak's front courtyard. He should have been working on a project, but he did have two more days. He was sure there was time.

Eventually, though, all good things had to come to an end, and Mondo had to move from his peaceful spot to do a check on his motorcycle.

He did this once a day, just to make sure no one had messed with his most prized possession. It may have seemed silly to some, but Mondo believed without it he would lose his Super High School Level title.

"Oi, Kazuichi!" Mondo shouted as he entered the school's garage, "How's she doing?" A pink-haired boy wearing a lime green jumpsuit rolled out from under a car he was working on. He sat up and gave a rather toothy grin.

"Same as always, Oowada-kun," said Kazuichi Souda, Super High School Level Mechanic, " I've been cleaning her often, just like you asked." He stood up and wiped the grease on his hands onto a towel.

"Good. Just wanted to make sure you haven't been mistreating her," Mondo said with humor in his voice. They had this exchange every day. It had become a welcomed routine.

Kazuichi cocked an eyebrow. "Now why would I want to do that?" he asked, amused, "This things a beauty. It'd be a shame to ruin such a wonderful piece of machinery."

Silence, then-

"Sure you won't let me ride her?"

Mondo laughed. "Not until you can prove you can ride motorcycles just as well as you can fix them." He turned to exit the garage, but Kazuichi was a talker, so he didn't get far.

"You coming to the game tonight? Maybe I'll see you there," he said, picking up a wrench and twirling it in his fingers.

"No, not planning on it," Mondo responded, hoping he wouldn't need to say why. His hopes were crushed.

"Aw, why? Leon's gonna wipe the floor with those bastards." One could here the excitement dripping from Kazuichi's voice. Leon Kuwata was a Super High School Level Baseball Player, and while he claimed to hate the sport, he always brought the Hope's Peak team to victory.

"I have other plans." Mondo coughed and went on, "Besides I wouldn't want to get in the way of you and your princess." He had a smile in his tone. Kazuichi blushed and looked away.

"L-lady Sonia and I are going as just friends," he said timidly. Mondo chuckled.

"Exactly. I don't want to get in your way when you make the first move." Kazuichi blushed even harder.

"O-oh. Right." He huffed, and looked up, then back at Mondo, "So what are your 'other plans?'" he asked.

Here it comes, what Mondo was dreading. There was no use in lying to his friend. At this school, the truth always came out in the end.

"Same as you and Sonia." Kazuichi looked confused, so Mondo continued, "I have a date, okay man?" He looked away. It was his turn to be embarrassed. Kazuichi's grin spread wide, showing off those shark teeth of his.

"With who?" he asked in a sing-song voice. Mondo blushed, but only slightly.

"C-chihiro Fujisaki. I asked her out a few days ago." He said, and waited for the jeering comments he was sure were coming his way.

Kazuichi sighed and said, "Remind me I owe Celes 2,000 yen." Mondo looked up.

"You made a bet with Celes on whether we would date or not?" he asked. Kazuichi grinned sheepishly. He scratched the back of his head with his wrench.

"Actually, we bet on which one of you would ask the other out first. I bet on Chihiro. Stupid. Shoulda' known she was too timid," he muttered, suddenly looking downcast.

"Oh, now look who's talking. Didn't Sonia ask you to the baseball game?" Now Mondo had a grin on his face. Kazuichi didn't answer his question, just blushed. It was quiet in the garage for a few seconds, then-

"Well, good luck on you date then, Oowada-kun," said the mechanic, too embarrassed to continue their exchange. Mondo turned and left the room. Just as he was passing through the door, he shouted out-

"And to you as well!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chihiro Fujisaki was indeed going on a date with Mondo Oowada. He had asked her out earlier when the two were alone together finishing a lab report for chemistry. Chihiro was doing most of the work, of course, but Mondo was helping with the writing. He was barely focusing on the work, however, because his mind was currently going over all possible ways he could ask out the programmer.

Chihiro wasn't like most of the girls he usually ended up with. Those girls were loud, and they smoked and drank like their was no tomorrow. They were big mouthed and big breasted. Chihiro, on the other hand, was quiet and sweet and so flat she was almost pre-pubescent.

Not that Mondo minded; that wasn't what he cared about at all.

In the weeks he had known Chihiro, he had developed some kind of feelings towards her. While he wasn't quite sure what to call those feelings, he knew that he wanted to protect her and keep her away from those he knew would hurt her. Mondo figured that was what you were supposed to feel when you wanted to date someone, so-

"Hey kid. You wanna grab a donut at that place Aoi's been raving about?"

Chihiro looked up from the lab results she was currently organizing. She was sitting cross-legged on the couch the recreation room. She smiled that sweet smile of hers and said, "Sure. Will Kiyotaka-kun be coming?" Mondo's face fell slightly as she asked this. This is where things get difficult.

"No, umm… Brother will not be joining us." Chihiro looked warily at Mondo as he said this, and he laughed nervously. He looked down and then back at her. "I figured it could be like a date. Uhh.. Maybe this weekend, during the baseball game. Everyone'll be there, so no one will bother us." He said this all real slow, making sure the programmer had heard him.

She had.

"Oh, umm.." she giggled, obviously nervous. Her eyes looked down and to the left as she thought. She wasn't smiling; her mouth was in a bit of a pout, actually. Mondo hated seeing Chihiro frown, and he hoped what he had said hadn't upset her

"Sure, Oowada-kun. We can get donuts." She put a little smile to reassure him, and Mondo sighed.

"Well, that's great!" He shouted, maybe a little too loud. He jumped onto his feet and pumped his fist in the air. "Don't be afraid, kid! This will be fun!" He ran back towards his dorm, leaving behind a very puzzled Chihiro.

She sighed. How was she going to play this? She knew her secret had to come out at some time, and she supposed now was as good a time as any. Suddenly her eyes widened as realization dawned on her face.

"Wait! We haven't finished the lab report yet! Oowada-kun!"

…

All that had been four days ago. Now, Mondo was preparing for his date. He had never had to prepare for such an outing before, because he had never felt the need to impress anyone. He wasn't sure why he was taking his time with this either; Chihiro was impressed with Mondo no matter what he did.

He was currently digging under his bed to find his "Crazy Diamonds" jacket. That was better than his school uniform, and he remembered Chihiro had found his gang life interesting. He hoped she didn't find it _too _interesting, however, because she was too innocent to be fully exposed to that sort of thing. He wanted to keep her innocent.

At that thought, he began to full realize how much he had changed since coming to Hope's Peak. Sure, he had thought about it before, but now more than ever he realized he wasn't the same person as he used to be. He especially realized it when he found the jacket and slipped it one over his wife beater. He fixed his pompadour and looked at himself in the mirror. The person staring back was almost foreign to him; he had even opted out of putting on his usual eyeliner design. Before, he would have never put this much thought into an outing with a girl, and he would have been brash, rude and impulsive.

Around Chihiro, though, he was calm. He took the time to think before he spoke, and made sure not to curse too much in front of her. He would do anything to keep her from crying.

Mondo wasn't nervous; he assured himself of that. However, he did feel an anxious excitement as he exited his dorm and headed over to the bench out front where he was meeting Chihiro.

They would meet and walk over to the donut shop together. They'd grab a bite to eat and then some coffee. Did Chihiro like coffee? He hoped so; it was all he could think of. Then, they would walk around the shops on the main road before returning to campus. What happened after was anyone's guess.

Yes. Mondo had it all planned out.


End file.
